The Paths That Cross
by WritersElemental
Summary: Dreamworks and Disney collide with a fantastical world of strange happenings. What could this mean? Will Hiccup choose between family and freedom? Will Jack choose between being himself and being a Guardian? Will choices affect the very fabric of the universe? Well, I can't say much for the others, but that last one has something along the lines of a YES to it. Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi there! Vasudha here, of WritersElemental. I had this idea of a couple of Disney and Dreamworks characters crashing together, and I just chose How To Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians as the main crossovers, since those are the two kind of worlds that it seems to be focused in. That, or Frozen's Arendelle._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, Brave, Rise of the Guardians, Frozen, or Tangled._**

**_Just one other warning before I start the story, it's going to become part of a network of other stories (hopefully, if I can piece it together) that are sort of alternate dimensions/times/space... just fair warning. So yes... Jack might meet another Jack... and all sorts of crazy stuff. Just a touch of warning._**

**_I hope you'll like it though!_**

* * *

The wind whistled across the top of the hidden place where Hiccup often met up with Toothless. Hiccup sighed as he looked up at the blue sky, his hand on Toothless's shoulder. He was going to have another stressful day this afternoon, at training. He didn't want to kill dragons, especially not after befriending Toothless. It felt… it felt wrong. As if he were killing one of his own friends.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Toothless. I don't know how I can stop it. If I suddenly stop being able to pacify the dragons, then they'll all wonder what happened, and start to investigate. If I keep following the path I'm on now, then they'll put me in a cage, with a dragon, and tell me to kill it. I can't… I can't let that happen… but what am I going to do?"

He looked down at the Nightfury, who just looked up at him, ears slowly flattening to the back of its head in worry. Toothless often reminded him of a cat, the way that he could convey his emotions so well, the way that he acted.

Hiccup couldn't lose him.

"I'll tell ye what ye c'n do," A voice with a thick accent came from behind him. He heard the thump of something landed, and spun around. "Ye c'n always run away. Tha's what I did. Me Mum never listened to what I wanted. I had to choose me own path. So I chose to leave."

Hiccup blinked in surprise. The voice belonged to a girl, about his own age. She had bright red hair, all in frizzy curls, loose down her back. It looked like it came to the back of her knees. She wore a blue-green dress, long sleeved, which reached all the way to her ankles. Around the elbow- and shoulder-seams it looked to have been torn a little, revealing puffy white cloth underneath. It looked to be form-fitting, until it reached her hips, where it became loose enough to move around it, but not with so much fabric as to be a hindrance. Slung around her waist was a belt, from which hung a quiver full of arrows, and on her back was a bow, one which looked sturdy. The dress brought out her eyes, which were mostly blue, with a hint of green.

"Ah-excuse me, but who are you?" Hiccup asked, suspiciously. Toothless had the look on his face of someone who was trying to puzzle out something, the something being Merida. Hiccup couldn't blame him. How had Merida found this place? And what was she doing here?

"I'm Merida. Who're you?" She asked. Hiccup couldn't place her accent. She didn't seem to be a viking, but she sounded a lot like the people in his village-the accent was just thicker.

"I-I'm Hiccup. This is Toothless." Hiccup wasn't sure what to say. A strange girl had come bursting into a place that had been just his and Toothless's-until today-and was telling him to run away?

Merida looked him over. "Well then, Hiccup," She paused and seemed to suppress a slight giggle at his name. He rolled his eyes but refrained from saying anything. She cleared her throat. "Ahem. Hiccup, how many days until yer village forces ye to kill a dragon, if ye keep as you are now?"

Hiccup went over all the challenges left. "Fi-five days." He stammered. It was all brought home to him. The fact that he would run out of time in just five days.

Merida seemed a little sad. Was it for him? "Well then, ye've got just five days until you have to make yer decision. Will ye stay here, and possibly kill a dragon? Or will ye travel with me, to where we'll be free from all o' this followin' what others decide for us?"

Hiccup looked down at the ground. "I- I just don't know what I'll do. I don't want to leave my family, but…" He trailed off, and looked in the direction of the village. At the same time that he didn't want to leave his Father, and everyone he had ever known… His Father always wanted him to be someone he wasn't. No one appreciated him until he started looking like someone he wasn't. He wanted to be free of that.

He looked back at Merida. She had a small smile on her face. "No matter what you choose, choose it for yerself. Carve yer own path this time, instead of lettin' others do th' carvin' for ye."

With that, she began to climb, first the tree, then the vines and cracks in the rocks, until she reached the top of the wall around the place. She looked back down at the alcove, at Hiccup and Toothless.

"If ye be wantin' t' find me, I'll stay around here for a few more days, in case you decide to come with me."

Hiccup nodded, wordlessly, and raised his hands in farewell. Satisfied, Merida walked off into the woods, and disappeared from sight. Hiccup turned his attention back to Toothless.

"Alright, buddy. I've got to go again," Toothless changed his look from analyzing, to mournful, making himself look as weak as pitiful as he could, despite his size and strength. Hiccup chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Sorry buddy, I still gotta go. I'll be here tomorrow though, just you wait."

As Hiccup walked back towards the village, he looked up at the sky. Midday. Noon meal. Another meal spent being crowded around, unable to think over what he had learned with Toothless until they all left him, which wouldn't be until they all got distracted or he specifically asked for some alone time. And he thought Astrid might be getting suspicious over his repeated leaving the group. Most of the other vikings would have basked in the attention, were they in his place. And it was, admittedly, strange for Hiccup to suddenly be able to "fight" the dragons, when before he had utterly _failed_.

He sighed, and headed towards his home village, the sole human-inhabited place on Berk. And headed towards his likely doom.

He came out of the woods, out of the safety, the solace, of them, and entered the dangerous village. Strange how his family and friends would have viewed it the other way around… but he could see how the woods wasn't frightening and dangerous, just a place to survive, just like the village.

And he doubted he'd ever meet anyone who viewed it the same way.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vasudha again! This fic takes place WELL before the movie, but sort of alternate dimension where it isn't long before the movie happens, yet at the same time, Arendelle and Vikings and sort of Medieval Scotland are still around. Don't ask me how it works, it just randomly does in my mind. I don't even know how. Logic says it doesn't work. Fantasy says "Deal with it".**_

_**I think I'll stick with fantasy for now. ;)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, Brave, Rise Of The Guardians, Tangled, or Frozen.**_

_**Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated.**_

* * *

Jack Frost flew across the Atlantic, sighing. He'd made Bunnymund angry… again. All he wanted was to be acknowledged, by someone, anyone! Why couldn't any of the Guardians see that? They were supposed to protect children, weren't they? And technically speaking, though he was somewhere around one-hundred years, he _was_ stuck at age seventeen for those one-hundred years, so technically speaking, he was still a child… Right?

The Guardians evidently never thought of him like that. The yetis never let him into the North Pole, the Tooth Fairy never noticed him when he came close to the Tooth Palace. He didn't know where the Sandman settled-if he settled anywhere other than his little cloud. But every time he saw Sandy, he was busy giving dreams to children… and Jack respected that. He couldn't tell if Sandy ever noticed it when he was around, as Sandy gave sweet dreams to children… but Sandy never stopped. He was constantly around the children, better than "Santa Claus" or the "Easter Bunny".

Speaking of Bunnymund… Sure, the Kangaroo acknowledged him. Only when he caused it to snow on Easter though. Only when he caused chaos in the Warren. Only when he directly interfered with the Easter Kangaroo's life.

Why couldn't any of them see Jack as he really was? Just a kid, looking for someone to say "Hi there, want to hang out with me?". That's all Jack was. A kid everyone had forsaken. A kid with no purpose in the world.

A kid trying to run away from it all. But he couldn't. No matter how much Jack flew around the globe, they were all there. They were everywhere. No matter how much he tried to go somewhere free from it all, one of them was there, evident by sand in the sky, the buzzing of wings zipping past, the jingle of bells on a sleigh, or the thumping of a rabbit's footsteps.

Why couldn't he just escape?

Shaking his head, he did his best to take his mind away from his thoughts. Even though he couldn't entirely get away… he could try. He could go to a place that they weren't well known. He was used to not being believed in, he could handle it. But if they weren't believed in, they might not really visit there often. Well, Sandy might. But all he'd have to do to avoid scrutiny is to keep his wintery powers under control, sweep snow into hidden places, hide frost until the little man went away, and bring it back out again every day.

Suddenly, he found a fjord that was already frozen solid-despite the fact that it was the middle of summer. Oh, Bunny must not like this… if he even knew about it…

An idea occurred to Jack. It was entirely possible that the Guardians were not known here. The only one he'd have to worry about would be Sandman, and even then, he would just have to keep himself out of sight! None of this was his doing, and Sandy probably knew it.

It was a place he could stay, away from the Big Four, away from being alone and ignored, even though he knew they could see him.

A place where he might even be able to get a friend.

For instance, who had started this whole winter? Who made winter come _in the middle of summer_? It wasn't like just anyone could come up and create a random winter. Jack wasn't even sure if he could, depending upon where he was. Tropics? Forget it. There was a 99% chance he would fail. At the least. But the more northern areas… like this place in Norway… it was possible.  
He doubted he could thaw the entire thing, but it wasn't like he wanted to. And anyways, who wouldn't want a snowy day to take away the heat?

As he flew toward the town at the fjord, he noticed something about everyone in the village. It must have been a full 24 hours at least since this winter started, and no one had any winter clothing. It was, after all, the middle of summer. Everyone was unprepared for the cold. They were shivering, huddling up in groups to try to stave off the cold. And it really brought home to Jack the damage he could cause.

Shaking his head, he looked up to notice a palace. Perhaps people could stay there. As he approached it, he noted with approval that a man, who seemed to go by "Prince Hans" from what others were calling him, was handing out warm cloaks that were apparently from the palace itself, and was inviting people to stay at the palace. This made sense, since there was a large amount of space in the palace already, and for the most part, the palace was often considered the most important part of any town.

Leaving Prince Hans as some nobles began to complain about the fact that he was giving away the trade-able goods and letting peasants into the castle, Jack flew toward the castle itself, to see how many people were already at the palace.

To his astonishment, not many people were inside the palace. In fact, there was an entire corridor that seemed empty. As he poked around, assured that no one could see him, Jack noticed a door from underneath which cold air blew. Curious, he quietly opened the door, closing it behind him.

To his astonishment, the entire room was filled with snow, ice, and frost. It was exactly as if he himself had lost control of his powers and just blasted them in a room. Snow covered the bedspread, ice climbed the walls. Frost covered both ice and the glass in the windows. a slight covering of snow lay on the floor, and Jack was careful to begin to sweep it up. Who knew when someone would just open up the door into the room? He didn't want anyone getting attacked simply because of the ability to control Ice and Snow… well… have the gift to, at least.

From the way that frost and ice sporadically covered things that were generally used everyday, Jack guessed that whomever resided in this room likely had no control over their powers. Saddened, he looked out the glass doors in front of the balcony, calling the wind through the slight opening in the door to whisk away the ice and snow. With the coldest parts of the indoor winter gone, the frost slowly began to melt, much to Jack's relief. Whomever resided in this room was safe, for the time being.

Curious, Jack took a second look at the objects in the room. Something about them tugged at his mind…

He suddenly realized what it was. Everything was of high quality. Everything looked to belong to royalty.

Looking up, he saw that through the balcony, he had a clear view of the mountains. The clear place for anyone with ice and snow powers to flee to, especially if they were royalty.

"Wind… please, take me over the mountains…" He whispered, fearing for whomever had the same gift as he. If people had attacked that person, who was likely already unstable, who knew what could happen? Images of icy blades being shoved into the heart filled Jack's mind, shortly followed with images of groups of misunderstanding people wielding torches to attach the one with the gift.

The wind immediately responded, lifting him up, and drifting him out of the window. From there, he flew as quickly as he could, looking for a mountain that someone could reach on foot.

There was only one that he could see, the northern one.

As he flew up, he noticed a small figure making its way up the mountain, with a royal purple cloak trailing behind it. Guessing that this was the person he was looking for, he brought himself a little lower, to try to get a closer look at the figure.

As he got close enough that he could see the figure fairly clearly, he realized that it was a young woman, about his age, perhaps a little older. Her hair was platinum blonde, almost white, like Jack's. Her eyes were big, and blue. She rubbed her arms as she walked, seeming to do so more out of habit and nerves than the cold.

Coming closer, he saw the look on her face. She looked scared, worried, and saddened. Her lips, a deep red, were pulled into a distinct frown. She had one blue glove, the other hand was bare. Her dress was elegant, and her hair was pinned up in a bun on the back of her head. Perched on her head was a delicate crown, golden, with a blue gem featuring. The dress was a teal, with black shoulders and sleeves. The sleeves came all the way to points on her hands.

As he came close, she began to sing, and turned back to look towards the direction the town would have been.

"**The snow glows white on the mountain tonight,**

**not a footprint to be seen.**

**A kingdom of isolation**

And it looks like,

I'm the Queen."

She sang despondently. Her cloak flew back a little, lifted by the wind. She turned back towards the mountain.

"**The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside."**

She shook her head, pushing her hand down as if to emphasize to someone that something wasn't possible. Her expression turned from frustrated to saddened though, with her next line.

"**Couldn't keep it in,**

**Heaven knows I tried…"**

She wrapped her arms around herself to give some attempt at comfort, her eyes shut for a moment. Then, her eyes flew open, and she continued on, seeming as though she were scolding herself, as she kept on up the mountain.

"**Don't let them in,**

**Don't let them see.**

**Be the good girl,**

**you always have to be!**

**Conceal, don't feel.**

**Don't let them know…"**

She clenched her hands into fists, then released the fists and looked down at her gloved hand.

"**Well now they know!"**

She ripped off the glove and spun, tossing it into the wind, and allowing it to be carried far away. Turning back towards the direction she was going, she opened her palms and began creating tiny flurries of snowflakes from her palms.

"**Let it go!**

**Let it go!**

**Can't hold it back anymore!"**

She created an entire snowman, missing only the nose, with a couple of waves of her hands.

"**Let it go!**

**Let it go~o!**

**Turn away and slam the door!"**

Looking up towards the sky, she released curling, feathered tendrils of snow upwards, then swiftly brought it down with a single hand motion, as though she were slamming a door.

"**I don't care,**

**what they're going to say."**

With each line, she sent flurries of snow up along the banks, then simply let them be carried off in the wind.

"**Let the storm rage on.**

**The cold never bothered me anyway."**

She paused, and unclasped her cloak. Without her tethering it down, it flew off the mountain, carried by the wind. Released from the weight, the young woman marched confidently up the mountain, towards a gap. Curious as to what she was going to do, Jack followed.

"**It's funny how some distance,**

**makes everything seem small.**

**And the fears that once controlled me,**

**can't get to me at all!"**

Giddy with this fact, she spun around fully, then continued towards the gap, running now.

"**It's time to see what I can do,**

**to test the limits and break through!"**

Curling up her hands towards herself, she snapped them out, sending an icy flurry towards the gap, and creating the start of some stairs. The stairs looked unfinished however, with little frosty ice shards (you know, like those ones you see on snow after a cold night?) covering the edges.

"**No right, no wrong,**

**no rules for me~e!**

She ran up to the staircase, paused, and planted her foot on the first step.

"**I'm free!"**

As she did, a small area around where she had planted her foot became a finished, icy smooth step. Looking around excitedly, she started running up the steps, continuing to create the staircase as she ran.

"**Let it go!**

**Let it go!**

**I'm one with the wind and sky,"**

With every step she took, hands out towards the railings, she created more unfinished staircase in front of her. With every step she took, every time she put her foot on a stair-step, the staircase in that area became finished, smooth, ice.

"**Let it go!**

**Let it go~o!"**

She reached the other side of the gap, further on up the mountain, and spun around.

"**You'll never see me cry!**

**Here I stand!"**

Running a couple of feet away from the top of the staircase, she lifted up the edge of her skirt to clear her knee, and stamped on the ground. Where she stamped, an incredibly huge snowflake began forming, filled with detail, and reaching all the way out to the top of the staircase.

"**And here I'll stay!**

**Let the storm rage on…"**

She looked around surveying her work, then brought her hands down quickly, pulling them up slower, as though she were lifting something heavy. As she did so, ice columns began forming, lifting up a floor entirely of ice.

"**My power flurries through the air into the ground!"**

She spun around in the center of the floor, hand outward. As she did so, the snowflake design in the center lit up iridescently. Then she lifted her hands up quickly, and the iridescence rushed out of the tips of the snowflake, traveling up the columns towards the top of them, forming a mostly see-through roof, as though it were made of glass.

"**Ice slowly spiraling in frozen fractals,**

**all around!"**

With a slight explosion of snow, an ice chandelier began to form, like a snowflake, from the top of the ceiling.

**And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast!**

**I'm never going back!"**

She ripped the crown out of her hair, and held it in her hand a moment, shaking her head slightly at it. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she tossed it away.

"**The past is in the past!**

**Let it go!**

**Let it go!"**

Swiftly, she reached back and undid whatever it was holding her hair in a bun. Released, a messy french braid flicked down and over her left shoulder.

"**And I'll rise like the break of da~awn!"**

With a gesture upwards of her right hand, ice and snow began to flurry around her dress, starting from the floor and going upwards. It took Jack a moment to realize that she was entirely changing the very cloth she was wearing with her winter powers.

"**Let it go!**

**Let it go~o!"**

Flicking her hands backwards as she headed towards the balcony doors, a frosty cloak, a lighter weight mimic of her purple one, formed, trailing behind her. The cloak was light blue, and the dress itself was a light teal, with a slit up to the knee on both sides. It was shimmery, and slightly more form-fitting than the dress it had replaced. The sleeves were long as well, and came to points in the back of her hand, just as the dress she had marched up in had, but these ones were made of the same material as the cloak, and looked more like ice and frost lace, than a full-blown, thick sleeve. The teal material's top was like the heart-shaped neckline of bridal gowns Jack had seen on winter weddings (that type of neckline was fairly rare though, unless the wedding was held inside.) From there, the lacy ice-frost stuff came up to near the top of her shoulders, and stopped, leaving her shoulders bare.

"**That perfect girl is gone!**

**Here I stand,**

**in the light of day!"**

With that declaration, she lifted her arms up and out to either stage, standing on her balcony.

"**Let the storm rage on!"**

She let her hands back down, and lowered her voice, a sly expression on her face. Jack noticed three little snowflake clips in her french braid, then shook his head and focused on her actions.

"**The cold never bothered me anyway."**

Spinning around, a small handful of her cloak keeping it behind her, she stepped through the balcony doors, slamming them shut in Jack's face.

Leaning back against the balcony rail, Jack grinned. In mere moments, the young woman had gone from knowing almost nothing of how to control her powers, to being able to control them almost completely. And being able to create some pretty impressive things, Jack had to admit.

Things had just gotten much more interesting around here.

Sandman, also known as Sandy, was busily making dreams for all the children, trailing along in his dreamsand cloud, and all was peaceful. Taking a little look at the dreams, Sandy saw parties, summer picnics, village fairs, you name it, almost every kind of thing a child could think of was present. Drifting towards Arendelle, since it had reached nightfall, Sandy was surprised to find only a few children asleep when he sent some dreamsand on ahead.

Turning his cloud into a dreamsand horse, he hurried towards Arendelle. Much to his surprise, he found it covered in snow. It was supposed to be sunny, and warm, and summer! Not winter. Curious as to find out if it was Jack Frost whom had created the winter, Sandy went lower for a closer look.

Drifting through the town, he helped parents by sending children to sleep, and giving them sweet, blissful dreams. As he wandered through the town, he found some important-looking men handing out blankets and cloaks to the peasants. He came closer towards them, knowing that they wouldn't see him. They didn't believe in him anymore, and it was rare that there was a fully-grown adult who did.

"Prince Hans, where is Princess Anna?" Asked one noble.

"Yes, do you think she collaborated with Queen Elsa in creating the winter?" Another noble accused.

The man they were all addressing as Prince Hans, the one who was handing out the most cloaks, spun around on them, hostility clear in his gaze. "Princess Anna is trying to stop this winter, not further it! And Queen Elsa did not mean to create this winter. She merely became nervous."

A particularly stuck-up looking noble harrumphed. "Well, this sorcery is likely what shut the kingdom down for so many years! She has _got_ to be stopped! Someone should go out to stop her!"

Before he could turn toward the two men behind him, Prince Hans stopped him. "No, Princess Anna has already left. Everything will be fine. Please, leave it to her for now."

But just then, a white horse came careening into the square. As the nobles and Prince Hans looked upon it with shocked gasps, it began to slow, though it reared.

Hans rushed forward, calming it. Sandy heard a couple of people mutter "That's Princess Anna's horse!" "What do you think happened?"

The man who had prepared to send his two men after Queen Elsa before gestured towards the horse. "Well now look where that has gotten us! Princess Anna is missing, perhaps working with the Queen, perhaps _dead!_ We cannot refrain from action any longer!"

Prince Hans looked down, then nodded. "Alright, but we'll go slowly, and look for Princess Anna along the way. It's possible that she is still alive and not working with the Queen," Raising his voice, he looked around. "I'll need a group of men to come with me and _peacefully_ bring Queen Elsa back to Arendelle! Who will join me?"

The shady noble raised his hand slightly. "I volunteer two men, sire!" Then, leaning back towards the men, he lowered his voice significantly. "Dispose of her the first chance you get," He ordered quietly. The two men behind him nodded, then headed towards Prince Hans to join him.

Sandy shook his head with worry, and flew back up into the air. Taking one last look at the frozen fjord, he formed a horse out of dreamsand once more, and rushed towards the North Pole. The Guardians needed to know what was happening, and soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**_This is a pretty short chapter, I know... but trust me, the next one will be six pages long, and my brain said 'aaaaand this is good let's go over here.' and I was like 'but... but... it's such a short chapter!' and brain said 'nope, I want this side of the story' and the brain has the writer's block ability, so I huffed and said 'fine' and went with it._**

**_So never mind my rambling, I'm gonna head on over to the next chapter!_**

**_I DO NOT OWN TANGLED, FROZEN, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, BRAVE, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, OR ANY OTHER DISNEY OR DREAMWORK STORIES THAT MIGHT POP IN AT A FUTURE TIME. I wish I was that awesome, but I'm not._**

* * *

Hiccup lay in his bed, and recounted the days earlier events. Today had been a mix of wonder and amazement, and horror. He was one step closer towards being forced to kill a dragon, and his life looked as bleak as it had yesterday.

Training had begun with the usual. Choosing your weapons. As usual, Hiccup chose a big shield, and a small weapon, while Astrid chose the biggest weapon and a regular shield. And, as usual, everything looked like it was going to go to Astrid, when Hiccup came through and used one of the techniques he had used while training Toothless. Today, it had been the sweet grass.

The Gronkle charged towards him, dragged itself to a stop upon seeing the grass in his hand, and eagerly sniffed it, eyes dilating. The dragon collapsed, and allowed itself to be put back into its cage, still under the effects of the sweet grass.

And, as usual, Astrid fumed while the other Vikings congratulated him. And, as usual, none of them let him alone until he entered his empty home.

Which was starting to feel more like a simple house, rather than a home...

He sighed, and folded his arms behind his head. Nothing ever seemed to go right for him. Everyone in the village wanted him to be somebody he wasn't. Toothless wanted to help him be who he was. He tried to balance both, and found himself with a foot in both worlds, and nowhere to go. Rolling out of bed, he filled a basket with fish, and slipped out the back door, towards the woods. Towards the only place he could be himself.

Towards the only place he could be free.

Rapunzel stared up at her ceiling and heaved a sigh. Why couldn't she leave? Just once? Why couldn't Mother go with her to protect her, if the world was so horrible? If the world was so horrible, why did Mother go out in it every day, leaving Rapunzel alone?

She glanced around the bedroom, looking at the walls, plastered with paintings. She was beginning to run out of space. Soon enough, she'd have to start in on the tiles. And once that was done, well... she'd have to find some other way to output her creative side. Maybe in tapestries. Maybe in embroidery. She knew how to sew, after all. Perhaps if she perfected her embroidery skills, she could ask Mother to sell them, to maybe give them away, or something? It was an idea, at least. And Rapunzel was rapidly running out of ideas.

"Rapun~zel! Let down your ha~air!" She heard the familiar call, and groaned, rolling out of bed and running towards the window. "Coming, Mother!" She replied.

Hooking her hair onto the little hook that seemed to be put there for that purpose, she let down most of her hair, and waited to feel the familiar weight that told her that Mother had her weight on it. Once she felt that, she began pulling with her hands, preferring to exert herself than to deal with the feeling of her scalp being ripped off. Once Mother Gothel reached the top, Rapunzel released her hold on her hair, and just concentrated on breathing. Mother weighed _a lot_, being a fully grown person. And Rapunzel being able to pull her up _on her own hair_ was something that took quite a bit of effort.

Tapping Rapunzel on her nose, Mother headed towards the stove. "Good Morning, Flower. Did you sleep well?" She asked, glancing back over her shoulder at the blonde.

Rapunzel was busy focusing on getting her hair looped over a particular beam of the rafters, to be able to get up to see parts of the ceiling clearer. She thought she saw a spot she hadn't painted on yet. "Yes, Mother. I slept wonderfully."

Mother Gothel turned around, looking at Rapunzel climbing up onto the rafter, and scooting along it towards the part where the ceiling met the wall. "Rapunzel, dear, what _are_ you doing?" She asked, incredulously.

Rapunzel looked down at her mother. "I—" she bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to share her thoughts with her mother. Finally, she took deep breath, and continued. "I'm running out of places to paint, Mother. So I thought I'd see if there was any place left and—"

Mother looked relieved at that. "And you're looking for something else to do, just in case?" She finished. Rapunzel nodded. Mother turned back to the stove, preparing something for breakfast. "Well, my dear, I believe I can help with that. There are plenty of handicrafts to turn to, you know. Embroidery, cross-stitch, needlepoint, perfecting your knitting, crochet, quilting.. really, the list just goes on!"

Rapunzel grinned, reaching for the paintbrush she had just tucked behind her ear, to start painting. She had a small area… looked about 3' by 3'... but she could make it work. "Already thought about that, Mother. Not sure which to pick though, I was thinking…" She paused, and before the paintbrush could touch the wall, it drooped a little. "I was thinking… maybe something that we could give… or sell… to others out there. Or that you could sell or give away." She finished, softly.

She could hear her Mother slow in her chopping, then speed up again. "I think that might be a wonderful idea, Rapunzel. It would be very nice to give some stuff away to those in need. What did you have in mind?"

Rapunzel carefully began painting, choosing her colors with care. "Maybe… Perfecting my sewing and embroidery, for now. Making some clothes for them? I'll practice on my own clothes at first, but then… maybe then we can start selling stuff, and then eventually, giving it away to those in need?"

Mother smiled, Rapunzel could hear it in her voice. "That sound wonderful, Rapunzel. I think that is a grand idea. How about we start putting it into action once we finish breakfast, alright? I'll be happy to take these things out to them."

Rapunzel smiled a sad little smile, and struggled to keep the sadness out of her voice when she replied. "Alright, Mother. After breakfast, we'll talk about it," The thing was, her Mother had just revealed to her that she never wanted Rapunzel to leave the tower. Ever. She added the finishing touches on the small painting, of Rapunzel herself, her hair braided back to be shorter than the seventy feet it really was, out in the forest.

And maybe, one day, it would actually come true.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Edit: I'm really really sorry! I just changed the chapter out, 'cause I realized there was a slight issue: Jack was 318 in PRESENT DAY times, not in the time of Arendelle's setting, so I changed that around. It didn't make too much of a difference, but there would have been a continuation issue. I'm aware that Jack probably wouldn't have been 100 at the time of Elsa's life, but I decided I'm gonna mess around with the timeline a bit anyways 'cause 100 years gives him some time to practice his powers and such.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG or Frozen, though I wish I could so I could legitimately kill of Hans. :D**_

_**Thank you for reading! -Vasudha**_

* * *

Elsa sighed, looking out at the wintery landscape. This was where she belonged. This was where she could be herself, be free from the days of being a royal, be free from the oppressive heat of the warm people around her, be free from the constricting, overheating clothing, to be free with her gift.

She never wanted to go back. Not even her sister could persuade her to go back to that torture. Not even her sister could tell her everything would be alright. Especially not after proving that she could just as easily be the perfect Queen to Arendelle, especially so prepared to have a King at her side.

Meanwhile, Elsa would be the hated Ice Queen if she remained in Arendelle. She would be considered a danger, a horror, someone to be cautious around because she might freeze you where you stand.

And how could Elsa ever fix that?

No, she belonged here. She wouldn't mind being lonely, not if she were free. Being free was something that she hadn't been—probably in her whole life! Not even as a child had she been as free as this, she reflected sadly.

Turning from the white of the snow, she headed into her castle, the doors shutting on their own behind her. She didn't want to face the world. And perhaps she should move farther away from Arendelle, in mountains. That would put Arendelle at less of a risk of her freezing it. Hell... she didn't even know what had happened. She knew the ice had frozen beneath her feet, but as she had fled into the mountains, she had seen snow falling, and had heard the cracking sound of large amounts of ice. What had happened to Arendelle?

Shaking her head, she looked around at her palace, trying to take the perspective of a complete stranger, looking at it anew. To her, it looked more like a home than she'd ever had. But to most people, it probably looked bare, looked... unpersonalized. It probably looked like a shell. Others would probably add decorations, furniture.

But Elsa saw everything she would possibly want, except a bed. And surely, if she could create clothing of ice and snow, she could create a mattress and lightweight blankets. And if it were made of ice and snow, she could easily sweep it away, out the window. The only other thing she could think of doing, to pass the time, would be to practice her new powers. She had seen the flourishes of snow she had created while simply releasing her power earlier... surely she could try and duplicate that as frost, couldn't she? Not to mention, if she could work it so that she controlled the frost, she could probably cover the walls with "paintings" or murals of frost, as decoration.

Suddenly, a tapping on her balcony doors caught her attention. What could possibly cause the tapping, this high in the mountains? Surely it couldn't be a bird, its wings would have been covered by frost and ice by now. Elsa hadn't seen anything _living_ on her way up here... so what was it?

Cautious, and fully aware that her nerves were causing spikes of frost to form on her walls, she approached her doors, one hand in a loose claw form, ready to freeze or claw the face off of any intruders.

She peered out through the opaque ice of the doors, and saw—nothing. Absolutely nothing and no one was out there. Relaxing, Elsa dropped her hand, and the frost designs disappeared. Calmly, she pushed the doors open and stood just within the doorway, overlooking the early afternoon sun. Her stomach began to grumble.

Looking down, she pressed one hand against her stomach, mouth twisting slightly. That was one issue she hadn't considered: Food. Water was easy enough, rivers nearby, or even sucking on ice. But you couldn't just conjure food out of ice and snow. Not anything that would be substantial, that was for sure.

Suddenly, she began to smell cooked meat. Was that... beef, she smelled? She sniffed appreciatively, before an icy wind blew by and cleared her mind. She shook her head, smiling slightly at herself. Beef, at this height? Who was she kidding? Food would mean that someone had come up here, and she didn't see anyone.

She began to turn towards her home, tilting her head down wistfully as her thoughts began to turn inward, when she noticed an odd shadow. Baffled, she looked at it. It was on the wall, next to her open doors. It was in the shape of a teenage boy, perhaps of about sixteen to eighteen years of age. But for it to have been made on her wall... would mean that the boy would have to be flying...

Confused, Elsa turned slowly following the shadow to the edge of her balcony, and looking up—

To squeak as she came face-to-face with a flying boy about four inches from her face. "Eeeep!" She exclaimed, stumbling backwards, arms flailing, as she attempted to regain balance.

Finally resting her hand against one of her doors, she found it again, as the boy perched on her balcony rail, a warm, roast beef sandwich in one hand, an old wooden staff in the other. He had hair as white as the snow upon the mountain they were on, and eyes that were crystal, arctic blue. He had his head slightly tilted, and had a slight smirk forming on his face as he gazed at her.

Her shock was clear on her face. "Y-you—how are you—flying! You—you're flying! Ahahahaha!" She held her hands up to her forehead. "I must be going mad! There's a flying boy who knows _how_ many feet off the ground, conveniently with a sandwich in his hand. Who just _happens_ to look like me. I'm going mad! The Curse and the isolation are getting to me. That must be it."

The boy chuckled, straightening his legs out to stand on the balcony. "You're not hallucinating, though you do sound like you need a bit of help and company..." He held the sandwich out to her. "Hold this in your hands, take a bite, and tell me that's not real. 'Cause it's a little hurtful to be called a hallucination."

Elsa flushed, then reached out to take it. It was rougher than the ones she was used to, and likely had come from a village. "Who... who are you, if you're not some figment of my imagination?" She asked cautiously.

He swung his walking stick about, and she noticed a few stray snowflakes flutter about in the breeze that came to tease her hair, brushing it against her forehead. She pushed it back impatiently. He kept looking at her, the expression on his face seeming to tell her that the answer was right before her. When she didn't realize whatever he was attempting to get her to realize, he sighed and flew over her into her home.

He looked around calmly as she tried to rush in. "Hey, hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to barge into people's homes?" She demanded. His only reply was a smirk, at first.

He began to trail the G-shaped hook of his odd stick against the ground, but she focused on him. "Perhaps, but this doesn't look like much of a home to me. Not even a place to sleep?" He whistled a low whistle. "You must have just moved in. And you'd better feel per-etty comfortable if you're already calling it a home. Nice palace though, I must say. Nice on the outside. What about internal designs though? Furnishings? Light source? Do you plan on going to bed with the sun? That'll be okay during the summer, but winter will make you restless as you get a lot of sleep."

Elsa's frustration grew. "Just who are you to analyze my life like this?!" She had gotten analyzed before at the coronation, at the palace, all her life... she had thought she had left it behind when she left Arendelle behind.

It appeared she hadn't.

The boy turned back to her, as he walked along the walls, dragging his stick along the the wall. "And will you _please_ stop dragging your—stick—thing—along the walls? The racket it's making is enough to drive me up a wall, let alone to shove you outside. And since I know you can fly, I might be tempted to shove you off the balcony." Elsa growled the last part.

The boy merely grinned. "You haven't been paying much attention to the important things. And for all that you seem to say you've left that life of a Queen behind, you sure do take control."

Elsa huffed. "Just _who are you?!_" She asked, exasperated. The boy was getting on her nerves, quite frankly.

He just chuckled again, continuing to circulate the room with his stick. Finally, he came to the center, where she was, and stopped in front of her, tapping his stick on the ground with his left hand. "You know, I would have thought you'd have recognized me before, particularly with the flying bit and the snowflake bit, and, well, if you'd looked at what I was doing. I gave you quite a bit of hints as to my identity."

Elsa was just confused, at this point. "Wha? What do you _mean_?" she asked, beginning to grow desperate.

However, when he reached out to her hand, she curled both hands against her chest. The last time anyone had reached for her hands without gloves, she had nearly frozen them. She didn't want her Curse getting out of control.

But he quickly—though admittedly gently—took her hand, and shocked her slightly as she did. His hand felt even colder than hers, if that was possible. Hers was slightly chilled, but she was still warmer than the ice and snow around her. It was only natural, after all, since she was a living being. She wasn't entirely sure she was human though.

The boy though, was... colder than her, his skin was the same color, his eyes were a piercing arctic blue, and his hair... While hers was a pale blonde, his was as white as the snow around them. She was beginning to wonder, just who _was_ this boy?

"Your Majesty, if I may reintroduce myself," He began, lowering himself into a slight bow. "You likely know of me as Jokul Frosti."

Elsa gasped. "Old Man Frost..." She breathed, and his head snapped up.

"I am not _that_ old!" He exclaimed. "Do I look old to you?"

He looked so indignant that Elsa had to struggle to keep from laughing. "Well, you do have the white hair," She teased.

He huffed. "Well, excuse _me_ for trying to welcome you."

Elsa paused, and her brows knit together. "Pardon? You were teasing me a minute ago. What do you—" She broke off as he gestured to the room around them, and her eyes widened.

On one part of the wall, the frost depicted a picture of a strange series of tunnels, and little eggs on feet running around through them. Though it was a frozen and icy picture, she got the sincere warm feeling of spring and growing things, just by looking at it.

Another part of her all showed a massive building, perched on a mountain, much like hers, but bigger, and with windows peeking out of the mountain. It looked more to be built _into_ the mountain, than built _on_ it.

The third part of the wall depicted a beautifully shaped palace, though it was strange in structure. It looked foreign, with its curves and points. She had seen paintings of places like that, and had been told that they were from India. Was this palace in India? But as she took a second look, she gasped in amazement. The palace looked to be miraculously floating in the air! And as she came close to the wall, she noticed the tiny details of little miniscule fairy creatures that were in the air around the palace. In the distance, she could just barely see a larger one, with arms and legs, and a long tail, directing swarms of them.

Clearing his throat, Jokul brought Elsa's attention back towards him, before gesturing towards the floor. As she did, she gasped, partially from shock this time.

He had made a very accurate picture of her creating her ice palace. Complete with the look of determination on her face. In this one, however, she was dressed as she was now, with the loose braid, and the clothes of snow and ice, rather than the uptight clothing of her disastrous Coronation ceremony. She looked back up at him, her curiosity written plainly on her face.

"Wha... How—?" But with a finger to her mouth, he silenced her, as her eyes crossed to attempt to see his finger.

When she looked back towards his face, he was gently smiling. "I figured it might be a nice welcome gift, since you seemed to be at a loss for creativity."

Elsa blinked. Her mind was blank for a moment. He was so nice, so strange... And she remembered the sandwich in her grip.

As he took his finger away from her mouth, her stomach growled again. Blushing slightly, she began to eat the sandwich. It was delicious, particularly after having gone so long without food. Licking her fingers afterward (unabashedly, too) she noticed him reaching into the the inside of his cape, and pulling out a small wrapper of—

"Chocolate!" She exclaimed, greedily taking it from his hand and already starting on eating it. He smiled at her as she continued eating, ignoring him in favor of the treat she so enjoyed.

"You know..." He began. "I prefer to be called Jack. Jack Frost, really," The statement was mostly lost on her for a bit, since it had been a bit of a while since she'd had the delicious treat of chocolate, and her nerves had been shot for a while.

Then the statement hit her, and she looked up at him. "Jack Frost? But I thought your name was Jokul Frosti...? Or Old Man Frost, really... but you don't look that old. Maybe... King Frost?" She searched through all the lore in her mind.

He laughed in response. "I'm not really the King of anything, though I _am_ actually about around 100 years old," he replied. "But seriously, Jack Frost's the real name. I'm not sure who began calling me Jokul Frosti, but however much it may _sound_ cool, my real name is just: Jack Frost."

Elsa pondered that a moment. "Huh. Not even King Frost? Or Prince Frost?" She asked, curiosity written plainly on her face. When he shook his head in reply, her brow furrowed. "I would have thought that you would be considered at least a Prince of Winter, since I've never known anyone besides you or I to control the ice and snow."

Jack smirked. "Would that make you the Princess of Winter?" He asked casually. For a moment, Elsa didn't make the connection. The Princess of Winter? She was the _Queen_ of _Arendelle_. How could she a Princess of Winter itself, when her life was likely not even half the span of his! No, scratch that. He was likely an Immortal. Elsa herself? She was pretty sure she was Mortal. She doubted she would ever live to see 80, let alone 100.

Then she realized. She had powers of her Ice and Snow, and she wasn't his sister. For him to call her the Princess of Winter could mean... a courtship invitation? She blushed furiously. "N-no, it couldn't be. I-I'm nowhere near as everlasting as Winter itself, and I—"

She broke off as she saw his expression. When she had pointed out the fact that she wouldn't last as long as Winter itself, she pointed out the fact that he _would_, that he would live hundreds of years, watching people die in front of him, making futile friendships, if he was seen at all. She had the feeling that he didn't get much human interaction. After all, though she had seen the winter weather all the time, she had never seen him before today.

His face had fallen, closed off, really. She could see in his eyes how close he was to flying off. Elsa wasn't even sure what was keeping him there. She reached a hand out to him, tentatively. She wasn't sure if she would accidentally fire off her powers, not to mention the fact that he might not want her near him right then. "Jack? I—I'm sorry."

He looked up at her, from the floor. He looked... still closed off, but not visibly hurt. She gulped and continued. "I—I don't know what I... could do to help... but... if there were something... I could do..." She stumbled her way through an apology. She didn't imagine he got many, and she knew that if she could help just one person have a better life than she'd had for most of her life, it would be better.

She looked at him, and stopped. He was smiling. Really, smiling. Not smirking, but smiling. "It's okay, Elsa," He soothed. "Really, just an apology is enough. Moon knows I don't get enough of that anyways."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "'Moon'? What's that?"

"The Man in the Moon. I've heard Santa refer to him as 'Manny', but I've always known him as the Moon. He's the one who told me my name, you know."

She paused, stewing that over. Firstly, the new name that had popped up: The Man in the Moon. She tried to think of any tales she'd heard of that, but came up short. Secondly, Santa? _The_ Santa Claus? The one who delivered gifts on Christmas Eve?

"Santa? You mean _the_ Santa Claus?" She asked, incredulously. At Jack's nod, she stood there, speechless for a moment. "Who else is there?"

Jack leaned back for a moment before drifting on the wind to fly around her chandelier. "Well, there's the Sandman—He's my favorite—the Tooth Fairy—She send little workers of her own to pick up the teeth. I've yet to see her pick up the teeth on her own in my life, though it could be that I'm just missing her—and the Easter Bunny... Heh, he's fun to mess with."

Elsa thought a moment. She hadn't heard of the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman was rare, but still a tale she knew... The Easter Bunny was a little more known in Arendelle. Not by much, but he was known.

"The Easter Bunny? Who hides eggs in the Spring?" She asked Jack for confirmation again. He chuckled and nodded again.

"He's real. So is Santa. I've only caught a glimpse of the Tooth Palace, but I did a fairly good job of recreating it, I think."

Elsa's eyes widened and she looked around the room, as if discovering the pictures anew. "You mean these are all places you've actually _seen_?" She asked shocked.

"Well, yeah," Jack replied. "I'm pretty good at coming up with pranks, or new ways to have fun, but my imagination's not good enough to create all of these scenes."

She looked around and placed each scene as correctly as she could with the information she now had. The floating palace was likely the 'Tooth Palace' Jack had spoken of, and the place with the little eggs was wherever the Easter Bunny was, leaving the mountainous hideout to be Santa's Workshop. "Santa's got an impressive workshop," Elsa noted.

"I've tried to get in a couple of times. The yetis keep throwing me out though."

Elsa looked over at him sharply. He'd landed, looking at the frost mural of Santa's place with an expression Elsa couldn't place. She ignored it for the moment. It wasn't as if she knew him or his expressions well yet. "Yetis? Throwing you out?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Not sure where the guy found him, but I haven't managed to get by them yet!" Elsa took note of the gleeful 'yet' and chuckled.

He glanced sideways at her. "What? I'll find a way. There's only one problem that's stopped me all these years, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be getting into that workshop."

His declaration only fueled Elsa's laughter, much to his confusion, and her amusement. He was determined to solve every problem he came across. Still curious, she opened her mouth to ask another question once she had finished laughing, only to be startled by a yawn. Quickly hiding it behind a hand, her eyes wide, she blinked a moment, blushing.

"Tired?" Jack asked casually. Elsa, still blushing furiously, nodded. Smiling, he rubbed his hands together and headed towards a corner. There, he began working with snow and frost, putting together something that Elsa guessed would help her sleep. It wasn't recognizably a bed though... beds were usually a rectangular, quite solid shape. This looked closer to a snowbank.

"What are you making?" She finally questioned, curiosity overcoming her. Her only reply was a chuckle, as he continued working. She took one step forward, only to be scolded back. Letting out an unqueenly 'harrumph', she crossed her arms and put most of her weight on one leg, leaving the other to tap slightly.

Finally, her impatience was ended. "Done!" Jack exclaimed, pulling back to reveal something she couldn't quite discern. Stepping forward—glad to have it be unaccompanied by scolding—she scrutinized it up close.

The blankets were identifiable easily enough, as were a couple of small cushions, but she couldn't tell what the main body of the whole thing was. "Jack... what is the main part?" She asked, confused. "I can tell the blankets and pillows, but the rest looks like a snowbank..."

Jack grinned. "It's one big snow-cushion. Kinda like a snowbank, only more supportive with a bit of ice and frost mixed in, just enough to keep you from collapsing through the snow."

Elsa's eyebrows raised, but she yawned again, keeping her from further comments. She heard the sound of Jack's staff tapping the floor behind her.

"You should get to bed. I'm amazed you didn't collapse of exhaustion earlier, you've been up all night, and well into the day. Get some sleep, I have the feeling you'll need it."

She nodded, slipping into the "bed" as she did so. It was surprisingly comfortable, most especially because it wasn't uncomfortably warm, like the beds at home were. The maids at home insisted in putting warm bricks in her bed, resulting in her staying up late doing work while she waited for the bed to cool. And people wondered why the Kingdom was so efficient.

"Goodnight, Elsa" She heard Jack say, somewhere near the balcony doors. She sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes and began falling asleep, feeling the safest she had since she was a child.


	5. Chapter 5

**_My brain has writer's block again! Rrrgh! The argument goes something like this:_**

**_Vasudha (muah, thank you very much): Lemme write more of a chapter!_**

**_Brain: No! I don' wanna!_**

**_Vasudha: Who cares? I want to!_**

**_Brain: You can't make me! *puts writers block*_**

**_Vasudha: WHY ARE YOU SO EVIL?!_**

**_Brain: Because I can. :P_**

**_... So as it is, I need a bit of help. Reviews will probably remove the writers block, and are much appreciated anways. :) Thank you very much for taking the time to read!_**

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Sighing, Merida leaned against the tree-trunk, staring up at the night sky. It had been about two weeks since she had fled the Castle of DunBrough, and still everything that had happened that night haunted her. That entire day haunted her. The last words she had spoken to her dear little trio of devilish brothers, the last words her Mother and she had screamed at each other, the last exchange between she and her Father... It was probably not something she would ever forget.

Maudie had said once that if something was on your mind, the best thing to do was to think it over, and "stick it where it belongs when you're done. If you don't, it'll go scuttling about your life and trampling everything in its path—just like those wee devils!"

Merida smiled at the memory, and quickly saddened at the homesickness that followed. She couldn't return, it would be in violation of everything she had done so far, and her Mother would only have a heavier hand on the reins of her life afterward. She was approaching her sixteenth birthday, and she knew that with her Mother suddenly deciding to make her perfect everything princess-ish, something that would bind her to the life her mother wanted was sure to follow. She held up eight fingers. Eight nights from now, she would be sixteen. Eight nights from now she would be of an age where her Mother would see nothing wrong with marrying her off.

Wouldn't have, that is. If Merida were still at home.

She sighed, and closed her eyes in pain, wincing at the headache and the ache in her heart that had followed her since leaving Scotland's shores. The flash of her Mother, screaming at her to behave more like a princess, particularly since she had managed to do everything a boy would do and almost nothing a "proper princess" would do during the entirety of the day. A glimpse of her reflection on the polished side of a claymore, the same one in the sheath at her hip now. A whisper of her Father saying "I love you. See you in the morning, my little warrior."

Tears ran down her cheeks, as she sobbed for all that she had lost. She had lost her family, and the familiar lands of Scotland. She had lost Angus, the best horse she'd ever had, and the gleeful, mischievous times where she and her brothers caused trouble. She had lost a Father who'd cared for her, and lost any chance of gaining the Mother who had sung her to sleep, and had forgiven her for the archery antics as a young child.

She allowed herself to brood a bit more on the subject before sighing and forcing herself to look up at the star-filled night. What had she gained? What had she gotten for her success in running away?

Freedom. That was the first thing that came to her mind. She had gotten freedom. What else? She had gained the ability to pursue game through the forest, to hunt rather than simply practice her archery on still targets. She had experience waking up to the beauty of a sunrise in a tree, seeing the ocean, and surviving on her own in the wilderness. She had seen a _dragon!_ She'd never have been able to see that if she had stayed at Castle Dunbrough!

Merida smiled slightly, some of her joy returning. She had felt better when she was with that boy—Hiccup. She had felt better, just talking to him. Being alone wasn't as great as it had seemed, and though it wasn't entirely bad, she was beginning to think that maybe she'd start talking to the animals for company!

Her smile grew wider, and she climbed the tree, getting as far up as she could, and catching sight of a wondrous treasure: the sky sparkled with stars like jewels in black velvet, popping out like diamonds. This would be a memory she would never forget. She might have been able to see this, if she had managed to sneak out, but she would likely never know. It would be one of the many things she had gained by fleeing to find her own path.

Her lids grew heavy, and Merida yawned. Knowing that falling asleep this high up in a tree was stupid—having done it once before and nearly dying—she climbed down to where the branches were sturdy and spread out a net between the two strongest, tying it to the two of them. Balancing most of her weight on the branches, Merida looked up at the night sky one last time before her exhaustion got to her, and she closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey Guys! Vasudha here! Sorry it took me a bit to finish writing the chapter, things have been chaotic lately! I know it's a short chapter so far... but hopefully soon I'll be able to post more chapters. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon, Tangled, Frozen, Rise of the Guardians, Brave, or any Disney or Dreamworks creations that might appear in this story, as ever. (even if I wish I did)**_

_**A question: Who's POV would you like to see more of? Main characters, or a bit of the others (Mother Gothel, Rapunzel's Real Mother, Queen Eleanor, Astrid, Anna, Sandy, etc.) R&R, please!**_

* * *

Rapunzel looked up at the afternoon sky, thinking of the colors she would use to paint it. A stroke of red here, a dab of orange there... the way it all blended together, painted by nature's hand, was so beautiful! Rapunzel just wished she could do something so beautiful one day.

Turning back inside, she looked at the clock on the wall. _Seven AM..._ She thought briefly before heading over to the window with the plants—when she pulled the dark red curtains shut, it looked like a small stage—she began to sing a song she'd been working on to help pass the time during her chores, while closing her eyes and reveling in the memories that followed the lines.

How every time, when she started the chores, she would climb up into the rafters until she deemed herself high enough, then would toss up a loop of her hair, catching it on a lever, which, when pulled down, would open a shutter to a window in the roof, and would provide a hook for her hair to allow her to slide down to end up right next to the clock.

** "7 am, the usual morning line-up,**

**"Start on the chores,**

** "And sleep 'till the floor's all cle~ean!"**

She giggled. The memory that accompanied that line was of her sweeping all the dust off the floor, and into the dustpan Pascal had held for her—accidentally getting half of it on him.

**"Polish and wax,"**

Rapunzel had put the scrub-brushes on her feet, a mop in her hand to steer, and Pascal drifted along on a brush of his own, her hair piled up on a table out of the way...

** "Do laundry and mop and shine-up,"**

Racing him up the stairs, her running up the stairs with her long hair dragging behind her, a basket of laundry in her hands. Pascal himself was climbing up the railing.

Another memory: Of herself dusting the candelabra, with Pascal standing atop the topmost candle, Rapunzel tickling him with her featherduster.

Yet a third, of her washing her hands at a basin, with Pascal swinging from his tail on the pump handle, grinning at her.

**"Sweep again,**

** "And by then,**

** "It's like**

** "7:15!**

**"And so I'll read a book,**

**"Or maybe two,**

** "Or three."**

She had had three books, one of botany with a brown cover, one of geology with a blue cover, and one of cooking with a yellow cover.

**"I'll add a feud of paintings**

** "To my gal-ler-y!"**

That brought back a memory of when she painted one of her wall murals, while Pascal hung from the part of the wall already dried, the palate of paints hanging from his tail so that she could have her hands free to paint. Her hair had been wrapped around her waist, and draped over the rafters, while she kept it from sliding and unwinding by hanging onto the end with her toes.

**"I'll play guitar,**

** "And knit,"**

Rapunzel giggled at remembering accidentally burying Pascal in a blue scarf that she just didn't stop knitting.

**"And cook and basically,**

** "Just wonder when will my life begin?"**

** "Then after lunch it's puzzles**

** "And darts,**

** "And baking,**

She had once carried five plates of chocolate chip cookies, two on each arm, and one on her head. She remembered it because Pascal had perch on the one closest to her elbow on her right arm, a cookie the size of his head sticking out of his grinning mouth.

** "Paper mache,"**

Apparently she shouldn't repeat her attempt at making a mask of herself. Pascal had run across the tabletop away from her.

** "A bit of ballet, and chess!**

She had spun around at an attempt at ballet, and had just wrapped herself up in her hair. She had still gotten his rook with her queen, though. Much to his surprise.

** "Pottery!"**

Pascal's tail was great at making patterns in vases.

** "And ventriloquy,"**

And it was funny to bob his tail up and down, with Pascal opening his mouth and shutting it like a nutcracker, while Rapunzel drank water to prove she wasn't making the noises coming out of his mouth.

** "Candle making!"**

** "Then I'll stretch,**

** "Maybe sketch,**

** "Take a climb,**

** "Sew a dress!"**

Pascal hadn't seemed as gleeful as she was when she'd made him a dress just like her own in his size.

** "Then I'll reread the books!**

** "(If I have time to spare)**

** "I'll paint the walls some more!**

** "—I'm sure there's room somewhere—"**

Rapunzel was painting the walls all the time. Now though, it was looking to be more like she would have to start touching up the paint on the already completed parts.

** "And then I'll brush,**

** "And brush!**

** "And brush,**

** "And brush my hair."**

For being 70 feet of loose hair, going all over the place, it was relatively tangle-free, much to Rapunzel's joy.

** "Stuck in the same place I've always been.**

** "And I'll keep wonderin'**

** "And wonderin'**

** "And wonderin'**

** "And wondering**

** "When will my life begin?"**

She opened her eyes again, and put down the guitar. It was doing pretty good so far, but she couldn't put any special memories to those last lines. Looking around the place, she'd found that it was only a couple of minutes later, but the sun was setting.

She headed over to the window in her tower. The colors of the sunset were so beautiful...

Yet also, so unattainable. It was too dangerous for her to go outside the tower, especially without Mother's protection. Who knew what could get her down there. Shaking her head from its unruly thoughts, she turned away from the window and began preparing for bed.


	7. Chapter 7

_Vasudha has arrived! Sorry for taking so long to get such a short chapter! I'm working on the next one as we speak, and I was going to include it in this one, but it's a little too long and I wanted to update by tonight. So here we are, checking in with a parent. Sorry about the delay on updates, my schedule's a bit busy lately, but hopefully soon I'll be able to get more time to update. Thanks for reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, Brave, Rise of the Guardians, or How To Train Your Dragon._

_Review please!_

* * *

Queen Eleanor sighed as she tucked her papers away for the night. Another day had passed since Merida had vanished. Another day in the two weeks since the girl had vanished from her room with no trace. The guards had been no help in that regard, since they had apparently fallen asleep on the job... She shook her head in annoyance. The incompetent fools were the reason why they couldn't tell if some skilled kidnapper had taken Merida, or if Merida had vanished on her own.

Eleanor paused to look out the window, towards the starry, moonlight sky. At least the weather had been gentle, either way, so that Merida hadn't had to deal with a stormy night yet. Eleanor worried for her daughter, no matter how skilled she was with weapons. It was a dangerous world out there, filled with war, with unimaginable creatures, with crime. Despite the fact that Merida constantly rode through the woods of Scotland, Eleanor didn't believe that she had a clue what could harm her beyond the animals of the forest. What if a human were to go after Merida? Would Merida be able to defend herself against that person, would she be able to kill? Moreover, would Merida be able to live with herself afterward?

As the days had passed, Eleanor's nightmares of everything that could happen to Merida that could go wrong increased. She found a new worry day by day. The triplets were being watched closer than ever, and their mischief was kept to a minimum. She had heard some of the maids wondering about this, because in their eyes there were two sides to the coin.

Sure, the triplets no longer caused chaos with their trouble, they never had a chance to. And true, they were safe, and home, and not out trapising the woods like their sister.

But their trouble hadn't often actually been harmful. More often than not, it had provided amusement for all, at the end of the day. Perhaps irritation during their pranks and plots, but not true anger. Many of the servants believed that their mischief might bring happiness to the Queen and King, as a sign that something had not changed.

And while Eleanor realized that what they said might have a grain of truth, she could not bear giving them a chance to be hurt... Like Merida. She couldn't bear having the chance that she might lose another one of her children.

Standing from the table, where she had remained long after the rest of the family had finished their dinner and business, Queen Eleanor slowly wandered over towards the boys' room, losing herself in thought. Losing herself in regrets.

_If only I hadn't pressured her into all those princess lessons,_ she thought. _She might still be here. The biggest thing I'd be worrying about is how princess-like she is, and not whether she's alive or lying dead on the ground somewhere. Or if she's being tortured. Or if she's starving, or slowly bleeding to death. Or dying of the cold. Or-_

Eleanor's head smacked into a support beam along the wall and she stepped backwards, a bit, shaking her had to be rid of the pain and the depressing thoughts. Hubert, Hamish and Harris didn't deserve to have a depressed Mother. They deserved a kind, loving mother, who cared for them, and didn't spend her time worrying about a child she couldn't do anything about. She needed to take care of whatever she could. And write now, the triplets fell under that category.

Sighing, Eleanor slowly opened the door to the triplet's room, relieved that the hinges had been oiled and didn't creak. The servants knew the boys well enough to keep it quiet. Better to sneak in and catch them at something.

The three boys were asleep, tumbled together in one of the three small cots in the room. As young as they were, they looked like a pile of puppies, or bear cubs. _Or fox kits._ Eleanor realized, with all the wit, mischief, and cleverness in them. The three could probably outwit a number of her own men. And she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing...

Satisfied that they were sleeping safely, Eleanor quietly stepped across the room, making sure to barely make a whisper of a sound, so that she wouldn't wake them up. Once there, she looked up through one of the windows, looking up at the starry sky.

The sky was beautiful, the stars like jewels in the black velvet of darkness. It was calming, to see something in order, something put together, amidst the chaos that had occurred recently. Something was the same.

As she searched the stars, Eleanor prayed to whatever may listen. Fate, some God or Goddess, anyone, anything.

_Please, please... Just keep my daughter safe._


End file.
